WESTERN-BLOT-ANALYSIS OF ANTI-ESCHERICHI COLI SERUM IMMUNOGLOBULINS IN WOMEN SUSCEPTIBLE TO RECURRENT URINARY-TRACT INFECTIONS

The basis for increased susceptibility of some women to recurrent urin ary tract infections (UTIs) is not clear; increased susceptibility may be due to host factors that promote increased colonization of the vag inal and bladder mucosa with uropathogens or to decreased immune respo nses to uropathogens, Anti-Escherichia coli antibody specificities in sera from UTI patients and controls were comprehensively assessed to d etermine whether UTI-susceptible and -nonsusceptible women differed in their capacities to make antibodies to individual E. coil antigens, S era were analyzed by one-dimensional Western blots using antigens prep ared from uropathogenic E. coli, The results showed that sera from sub jects without a history of recurrent UTIs contained IgG antibodies to specific E, coli antigens more often than did sera from UTI-susceptibl e patients, These data suggest that hyporesponsiveness to specific E. coli antigens may be linked to increased UTI susceptibility in some wo men.